As recording/reproducing apparatuses (recording/playback apparatuses, recording/playback devices) which record video signals of television broadcasts and the like, there have been conventionally proposed digital recording/reproducing apparatuses that handle broadcast signals as data streams in the form of digital signals and record the data streams as recording streams (recorded broadcast program) into a random access digital recording medium. Examples of the random access digital recording medium include hard disk HDD (Hard Disk Drive), digital multi-purpose disk DVD (Digital Versatile disk), and BD (Blu-ray Disc).
As the recording (the following description focuses on “image recording”), the recording/reproducing apparatuses including digital recording/reproducing apparatuses have the following functions. One is the so-called “timer recording” function of preselecting a recording time, starting recording at the preselected time, and stopping the recording at a designated time. Another is the so-called “normal recording” function of starting recording immediately in response to the entry of recording start instruction (execution of recording) and continuing recording until recording stop instruction is entered (execution of recording stop). In addition, some of the recording/reproducing apparatuses generally provide, as the recording functions, (i) the function of preselecting a recording finish time after the execution of recording and stopping the recording at the preselected time, and (ii) the function of setting timer recording to record at a designated time everyday or every week, and (iii) other similar functions.
Currently, general recording/reproducing apparatuses have, as standard functions, the function of obtaining information from G-Code®, EPG (Electronic Program Guide), or the like to preset a recording time, and the like functions.
Some of the digital recording/reproducing apparatuses include HDD as digital recording medium and have the function of deleting recording streams whose storage period has expired or recording streams that have been already viewed, taking advantage of random access properties of the HDD. This is the function for freeing up an occupied storage space as a free space into which new data streams can be recorded. As digital recording/reproducing apparatuses having such a function, there have been an apparatus which automatically determines level of importance of data and automatically deletes data according to the result of the determination (for example, see Patent Document 1) and an apparatus which deletes unnecessary portions of a title, instead of automatically deleting data by title (for example, see Patent Document 2). Further, there has been an apparatus which has the function of displaying candidates for deletion and warning on the basis of information on the frequency of reproductions when more free space of HDD is required to prompt the user to select any of the candidates, and freeing up a recordable space in accordance with the user's selection (for example, see Patent Document 3). Still further, there has been proposed an apparatus which displays date and time of a final program until which recording can be performed in a case where the apparatus is preset to record regularly broadcasted programs such as serial drama (for example, see Patent Document 4).
As listed above, there exist some recording/reproducing apparatuses which include a large-capacity HDD, but prompt the deletion for reserving storage space when more space is required in the HDD.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-217264 (published on Jul. 31, 2003)
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-303368 (published on Oct. 28, 2004)
[Patent Document 3]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-268923 (published on Sep. 20, 2002)
[Patent Document 4]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-33983 (published on Jan. 31, 2002)
[Patent Document 5]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-160264 (published on Jun. 12, 2001)